Events - 15 Apr 23

The Saturday Reading Group is for anyone who loves to read, socialize in English, and meet new people. For this meeting, the group will read Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.

Janina Duszejko is an ageing woman who lives in a rural Polish village, located near the Czech border in the Silesia region, in between Lewin and Kłodzko. Janina spends most of her time studying astrology and translating the poetry of William Blake into Polish with her friend Dizzy. She had two dogs as pets but they both went missing. One day, her neighbour Big Foot, a frequent hunter, is found dead in his home by Janina’s friend Oddball. From Janina and Oddball’s inspection of the scene, it seems Big Foot choked on a bone while eating. Janina also finds a shocking photograph in Big Foot’s house, the contents of which are revealed in the penultimate chapter. Janina disliked Big Foot because she disagrees with hunting animals. She begins to believe that animals could have killed Big Foot out of vengeance. She writes to the local police, who ignore her theory. The police commandant–called the Commandant by Janina–is also a hunter and is later found dead beside his car by Dizzy. The Commandant’s death emboldens Janina’s beliefs, but her friends Dizzy and Oddball are sceptical of her. Janina is questioned by police as a witness to the crime scene. One officer accuses Janina of seemingly valuing the life of animals more than that of humans. Janina tells them that she values both equally.

Meetings are once a month on Saturday afternoons starting at 3 pm. Open to all library members. To sign up please contact the group coordinator at bookgroup@ellia.org.

The film club presents a film in English once a month on a Saturday afternoon. This showing will be of “Bright Star”, directed by  Jane Campion, a 2009 biographical romantic drama film:

In 1818 Hampstead, the fashionable Fanny Brawne is introduced to poet John Keats through the Dilke family. The Dilkes occupy one half of a double house, with Charles Brown occupying the other half. Brown is Keats’ friend, roommate, and associate in writing.

Fanny’s flirtatious personality contrasts with Keats’ notably more aloof nature. She begins to pursue him after her siblings Samuel and Toots obtain his book of poetry, “Endymion”. Her efforts to interact with the poet are fruitless until he witnesses her grief for the loss of his brother, Tom. Keats begins to open up to her advances while spending Christmas with the Brawne family. He begins giving her poetry lessons, and it becomes apparent that their attraction is mutual.

Watch the trailer here.

Screening begins at 3 o’clock sharp and will be followed by a discussion in English. This activity is free and open to all library members.  

Are you a new mom or dad and looking to meet other English-speaking parents in the area? The BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) group is a way for families with young children to connect and chat about anything and everything related to the journey into parenthood. This group is for English-speaking parents with a baby (or babies!) under 3 years old so be sure to bring them along! Bilingual and multilingual families are welcome, too. The group will meet one Saturday a month from 4:15-5:15pm in the back of the library.

This activity is free for library members. For more information or to sign up, please contact the group leader.